The Succubus's Ring
by Targ Collective
Summary: An adventurer, deep in a dungeon crawl, encounters a Succubus and has friendly contact with her.
1. Chapter 1

"My name is Samuel. In my tale, I was, and still am, an extremely capable, high level Warrior in a party with just a Paladin. (The Paladin and I have parted ways since but remain on good terms.) I was, and still am Lawful Neutral; my trusted Paladin companion, of course, was Lawful Good. I and my ally agreed to scout out in two different directions in the dungeon we were exploring, the Fiend Pits, so as to cover more ground."

"I came across a room filled with Orcish necromancers and their summoned minions, and easily dispatched them with an élan and skill that had been hard earned, both in training and later on in the field, where I had learned the hard way not to pull my punches, so to speak. There was a woman of most uncommon beauty tied up in the room. Ever eager to help a damsel in distress, I said, "I will escort you to the entrance of the dungeon if you wish, or if you would prefer travel with you to the nearest town. I would not advise travelling with me deeper into the dungeon – you could get hurt." She replied, "I would be happy for you to escort me to the entrance of the dungeon, my brave hero, and it would please me if you would give me a kiss as a token of our meeting.""

"My lass, while I would love to give you a kiss, a seasoned adventurer like myself knows the uses of caution. Demons such as Succubae and Incubi are known to haunt these ruins, and while, of course, I am sure you are not one such it would ease my heart and my mind considerably if you were to meet up with my Paladin companion so he can cast Detect Evil on you, so all doubt may flee my mind."

"Not all beautiful women are Succubae, surely? I was abducted and tied up! They were going to make me a skeleton, or a zombie, or some other such beastly undead! Surely you can see that!" To my shame, she began to cry.

"Please don't cry, lass. But please also understand MY fears - with a Succubus, all it takes is one act of passion to bring you under their spell! There was an archer I fought with a few years back, he took a kiss in a situation very similar to this one, and was totally under her thrall! It took us a while to realise the lady in question was a Succubus, but she unwisely displayed her true form when she thought they were alone, and then we slew her – against his wishes. When she was destroyed he quickly thanked us for freeing us from her thrall though."

"Did the succubus harm him? If she did then they are truly dangerous and I understand your concerns."

"The succubus treated him like property and seemed to have a vested interest in keeping him well and safe, but we believe that this was purely out of self interest. It must be said that they chose to have sex - or she chose, rather, and in his dominated state he complied with that – every time we stopped for camp."

"Surely a kiss would do no harm of that kind! I positively demand a kiss - and for saving me you have surely earned one."

"Lass, if you meet up with my Paladin ally so he can check you're not a Succubus, I'll give you all the kisses you want. I give you my word on that." I was speaking the truth; she was comely, and, well, you never knew your luck – it could go beyond kissing.

"Then we have a problem. I am evil, but not a succubus. And I still want a kiss. Tell me, would you let your Paladin ally kill a defenceless maiden just on the grounds of her alignment?"

Here Samuel paused to take a deep draught of ale. His listener said, "Go on, and continue the story! Was she a succubus? What did you do?"

"I told her that I was neutral and therefore equally at home in Good or Evil company, but tended to rely on the Good like my Paladin ally out of pragmatism – Good allies, and especially Lawful Good allies made the most reliable travelling companions, unlike Chaotics who I frankly find unsettlingly unpredictable and Evil allies who tend to follow their own agendas rather than working together. "And that's why", I finished explaining. "As a neutral person I would encourage my Paladin ally to let you go and not harm you, pointing out that killing the defenceless is exactly what Paladins SHOULDN'T do. He is an honourable being who sees past alignment, though he would probably want an opportunity to redeem you in exchange for letting you go.""

"I want you to promise me this. If you genuinely believe that your paladin ally will kill me... Give me a kiss before he does."

"By this point I was pretty convinced the lass was a Succubus to be honest. I mean, most women would respect an adventurer's concerns, right? It is possible that she was a particularly forward woman and I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt but I was growing extremely concerned for my safety. If she was a Succubus and her plan to seduce me failed, would she react violently? I decided that I needed to draw her out if she was, and so formulated a plan to do so. Here is what I said."

"Lass, while I am aware it is possible to have friendly contact with an evil outsider - which, and I beg you not to be offended, I now have strong reason to suspect you of being - that would hardly apply to a contact where the outsider in question is in disguise. I challenge you: If you are a succubus in truth, assume your true form, and then I will decide what to do if you will make this a friendly contact."

Samuel falls silent, apparently deep in thought. His listener, growing impatient, cries, "And then what happened, Samuel? Then what happened?"

"Her true form was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. She had wings spreading out behind her... A veritable fallen angel. She looked into my eyes, deep into my eyes, and said, "I have trusted you. Now will you trust me and give me my kiss?""

"I want you to understand that I have never been a strong willed character. The Paladin I was working with - now HE is strong willed. He would have resisted, I am certain. More, he would have slain her, unless she was more powerful than I would have thought – in battle my Paladin ally was a death machine. But I just got lost in her eyes, and felt all vestiges of will and resistance fall away."

"We kissed, and much more than just kissed. I trust I do not have to draw you a picture. She later told me that that first time lasted for just half an hour, but it felt like hours. And it was... heaven. I have been with women before but the experience with this being was out and away much better than any such experiences I had ever had. I felt drained, slightly weakened afterwards."

"She told me, "Do not be concerned at your feeling of draining and weakness. I am a Succubus, and that means I feed off the energy of sexual encounters. That energy came from you. You were not harmed by this. It is very important to me that you understand you were not harmed by this. You will easily recover the sexual energy I took from you over time.""

"She continued, "I offer you a gift, as a token of our meeting. Take this ring. You can use this ring to summon me at any time, though I am at liberty to refuse the summons. I am willing to be summoned to aid you in battle, so long as this does not conflict – or preferentially so long as it aids – my goals. If you are in grave danger at the hands of my allies, I will intervene as a mediator between you and my allies, but am extremely unlikely to take arms against my brethren, especially other Succubae and Incubi and those Evil forces allied with my cause. I hope you will summon me for sexual purposes often. The ring carries an enchantment that will allow me to monitor your health and welfare at all times, and in accepting this ring you will accept my protection. When I actually am ready and want to be summoned you will feel the ring grow warm.""

"My will was in tatters at this point, but I had just enough left to ask one question about the ring. I asked, "Does the ring give you power over me in any way?""

"She replied, "Yes, it does. It creates a telepathic link - a one way telepathic link. It will let me read your every thought so as to better know you. The link is one way partly to avoid overwhelming you with my thoughts, which I imagine would be unpleasant for you, and partly because there are frankly some thoughts which I would wish to keep private from you."

"She looked deeply into my eyes once again and told me, "You know I could have dominated you, **and I chose not to**. Your trust was rewarded. Accept my gift and your trust will be rewarded again.""

"I was not without doubts but I chose to accept her ring, gave her a goodbye kiss, and in the following years she saved my life in battle many times, and enlivened my nights many times."

Samuel finished his drink and called to the bartender for another. "So that is my tale so far, traveller, and it is nearly fully told. Would you hear it to its conclusion?"

His listener said, "While I fear for your soul and your welfare, I have nothing better to do this evening than listen to your tale. Speak freely."

Samuel nodded. "Some years later the Succubus asked to be summoned through the ring while I was travelling, and I obliged, glad of the company. She confessed that she had slept with many men to keep herself well - I had by then learned that Succubae actually need sex like we need food - but that she had fallen in love with me and wanted sex with me to the exclusion of others, and that this would mean she would have to have sex with me regularly from then on. She said if I refused her sex over the long term she would have to find other partners. She said, "I love you and want to be yours, and very much want you to be mine. It will mean a lot of sex over a long term period. Will you trust me not to drain you too badly if you let me have you exclusively?""

"I agreed. And so I had sex with her most nights, sometimes in the day too. For her part, she agreed to never have sex with me to the point where it would do me harm; and she kept to that agreement. For my part, whenever the ring was warm I summoned her. And the more I lay with her the stronger she became, until she outmatched me in combat".

Samuel paused to take a sip of ale, and added, "It should be noted that sex with a Succubus - if my experience is anything to go by – is incredible; far better than sex with a mortal could ever be. So I was very, very seldom going to say no to her – and yes, I did say no sometimes, and she did respect that."

"Anyway, at one time a couple of years ago, she asked for me to commit to her in a special way, and as part of that she asked for my trust. She asked my permission - as a symbol of our commitment - to cast a spell on the ring that would cause it to contract around my finger each time we had sex, until it could not be removed, and until eventually it would magically contract around my finger and actually **sink beneath the skin** to wrap around the bone underneath. She promised that the whole process and its results would be totally painless and this would ensure that the ring would never be lost."

"Now this posed a dilemma to me. The Succubus, on the one hand, had displayed a great deal of trust in me, had saved my life on numerous occasions, and was – if she was to be believed – deeply in love with me. There have been cases of Succubae falling in love with mortal men, and often these cases include the Succubus and the mortal in question living happily in the afterlife as well. On the other hand, in accepting this I was ensuring the only way to avoid being under her influence was to lose a finger. And she wanted me to trust her."

"Well, it was a hard decision, but in the end I agreed to the spell. Indeed, looking back I agreed to everything she asked of me save one thing."

"And this was?" asked Samuel's listener.

"She has asked – many times – to be allowed to enchant the ring to allow her to summon herself to my location at will. I trust her in most things, but something in me – maybe the last vestiges of my tattered will, perhaps a smattering of good sense – causes me to balk at the idea. But I can feel my resistance to the idea eroding, and there is a decent chance that, one day, if I choose not to do this, I will be in a desperate situation where quick thinking is essential and she is my trump card, so to speak, allowing me victory. I do not know. I suspect one day I may allow her this. All I know is that is not today.

Samuel displays a finger to the listener, with a noticeable ring-shaped bulge under the skin. "And here is the proof of my tale – the ring under my skin that she gave to me, all those years ago. Proof that this is not another tall tale. What do you make of that, my friend?"

His listener turned white, and said, "If what you have told me is true I beg you, seek help! I know a marvellous surgeon – he could have that finger off without you feeling a thing! Or perhaps a wizard to remove the spells! I WILL HELP YOU, IF YOU ALLOW IT!"

Samuel smiled, and said, "I did mention, didn't I, that she can hear my thoughts through this ring? I don't want to think of how she would feel if I were to seriously contemplate such matters. I have no intentions of doing such things."

"Then I ask you to leave this town and never return. We don't need evil here."

"Hark – the ring goes warm! She may want to meet you. No, don't worry, she won't seduce you; I'm the only one she wants for that. And she knows better than to assume her true form in a crowded tavern. No? You don't want to see further proof of my tale? Then I will retire to my room here. Good night to you."

/

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I have no intention of revisiting this tale and setting at this time, and this tale is, to all intents and purposes, a one-off. If you have an interest in using this story for any purpose beyond reading it and sharing it, I would consider it good manners to ask first. If you want to create a sequel to this story, permission is given CONDITIONAL TO YOU NOT CREATING GRAPHIC SEXUAL PROSE AS PART OF IT. Keep it tasteful please.  
If I receive an overwhelmingly positive response to this tale, I may create a sequel myself. However, at present I have no intention of doing so.


	2. Chapter 2

Samuel retired to his room and summoned his Succubus.

"You really shouldn't have told him all that", she said. "It was foolish in the extreme. Before we do anything else I must make sure you never do such a thing again."

"I'm sorry", Samuel said. "I just don't like the way your kind are so reviled and wanted to show that it's possible to have friendly contact with you. I love you. Please, you don't have to punish me; it's enough to know you don't want me to do this. I won't talk about us in the future if that is your wish."

She smiled. "It is my Demon Lady's goal to achieve exactly that; but you went about it the wrong way. I promise I won't hurt you. Now get on the bed and lie down; I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Hurt myself?" asked Samuel, mystified.

Her smile hardened. "You'll see."

Trusting as always, Samuel lay down and relaxed - and then the pleasure hit him.

There are those – hedonists usually – who will say that there is no such thing as too much pleasure. They are wrong. It is possible to give someone more pleasure than they want, more pleasure than they can cope with. Samuel tried to scream but the pleasure was too intense for that - all he managed was an agonised moan.

The pleasure was partly sexual, but that was not the greater part of it. It hit him in waves, each stronger than the last, building and building. His Succubus frowned, concentrating, bringing it to greater and greater peaks. He blacked out, but unconsciousness was no escape; he was pursued by that awful, dominating pleasure. She kept it going for a full ten minutes after he blacked out and then gradually ebbed it off. Then she woke him up.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Please don't do that again. It was too much - just too much. I couldn't cope, I could feel my sanity slipping away", said Samuel.

"Well, it was supposed to be a punishment", the Succubus purred. "Perhaps you'll think twice before blabbing to some stranger the details of our relationship next time. This punishment is twofold; you have seen a small shadow of the extremes of pleasure I can bring you to and a part of you will want to re-experience this for a long time. That part of you will be denied. And the extremes I have shown you will cause you to be wary of pleasure for a while, fearing it will grow so extreme you will go mad. This will pass in time. It is to be hoped the lesson will not."

"A small shadow?" said Samuel weakly.

"A small shadow. The connection between us is so strong that I could easily have made it thousands of times stronger if I wanted to. But then you would have bitten your own finger off and vowed to have nothing more to do with me – and that would have benefited neither of us. Now, we cannot stay here. That peasant you blabbed to could be summoning guards to this tavern even as we speak. Fortunately, I can Gate right to my home in the Abyss. I invite you to join me."

"No thank you," said Samuel. "I have no wish to be tortured in the Abyss."

"The torture is over," his Succubus replied. "You are under my protection, and the ring itself is proof of that. I promise you that you will come to no harm if you come home with me, but I cannot guarantee that if you stay here. Anyone who tries to harm you will see a dire fate at my hands, even if they are in my home realm. Now come ON."

She cast Gate, and, with great trepidation, Samuel followed.

The Abyss was warm, but not uncomfortably so. Samuel had expected the screams of the damned; instead he saw before him a grand mansion. It was covered in murals and bass reliefs of an intimate nature.

"I Gated us right outside my home. Come on in, I'll show you around. You're the only mortal to willingly visit it."

Inside the intimate murals and bass reliefs continued. Everything seemed to be sexually themed. "It's a bit extreme isn't it? Trying too hard?" said Samuel.

His Succubus shrugged. "I'm a Succubus," she said. "Why not be true to my interests? When you move in I might change things more to your liking."

"When I move in? But I'll go to the Lawful Neutral afterlife surely?" said Samuel.

"Not if I can help it!" replied his Succubus. "I want you forever! There are ways I can get that too."

"What ways?" asked Samuel.

"Well, I can corrupt you to my alignment. That is one way. I can create such a strong link between us that you will be drawn to me in spite of your alignment. These are the two ways I am trying to get hold of you forever at this time."

"Is there a third way?" asked Samuel.

"Yes. If you sell me your soul your soul will be bound to me in your afterlife to do with as I please, in accordance with the conditions established at the point you sell me your soul."

"I think not," said Samuel.

"Don't you trust me?" his Succubus purred.

"In most things. But there are extremes I will not go to."

"Well, it's your choice," said his Succubus. "Even if I could force you to do that I wouldn't. However much I'd love you to do it."

"Tell me - not that I'd want to, not that I'd probably be able to - aren't you displaying an awful lot of trust in me? Taking me to your home realm? I read somewhere that when you kill demons in their home plane they stay dead," said Samuel.

"Don't believe everything you read. That's a myth to encourage invasions here, so we can fight mortals on our home plane more and capture them for slavery." She took Samuel by the hand. "Follow me. I want to show you something."

She led him through the buildings - mostly opulent in this district of the Abyss - to a square of some description. In this square were cages. In the cages were people. Here a Wizard, there a Sorcerer, here a Barbarian, there a Rogue, here a Paladin, there a... and so on, and so on, and further on, and even more so, and yet further on.

"These are some of the captured invaders", she said. "They thought they could invade our home plane and get away with it. They will be sorely tried for their transgressions."

"How will they be tried?" asked Samuel.

"The lucky ones will be selected by Succubae and Incubi for sexual slavery, living out the rest of their lives in the Abyss under the thrall of the Succubae or Incubi they are chosen by. The unlucky ones will be drained of all their sexual energy by their partners in one session, killing them and sending their souls wherever their souls will go."

She added, "It costs wealth to drain a being of all their sexual energy to the point of death by the laws set down by our ruling Demon Lady. Unfortunately, doing that is addictive, and there are many addicts who are deeply in debt to her. These unfortunates are sent out on missions to the physical plane, as punishment, de-powered, or severely punished, if they get too deeply in debt."

"Did you ever kill a partner?" asked Samuel.

"Once", she replied. "I was bloated with sexual energy, which was very pleasant, almost euphoric; but whenever I actually tried to have sex again I felt sick, like I was taking on more than I could handle. I decided it wasn't worth it to sacrifice the pleasure of having sex. I was told that the more you drained people, the more you got used to it, but I didn't want to risk getting addicted to it. Also, a Succubus who gets sick when she tries to have sex? I mean, isn't that just tragic? Anyway, I have shown you what I wanted to show you here; let's return home."

She led Samuel back through the opulent buildings to her home and led him indoors.

"Here we are", she said. "Now I will show you my treasury."

She led him to a large room, which was heaped high with piles of gold coins and gems and treasure of all kinds. Samuel didn't know what to say; he let his jaw drop, which was clean and simple. "You're rich!" he cried.

"Yes, and it is mostly thanks to you. I could tell you how, but I think it would be more fun to show you."

She assumed her true form and shrugged out of her clothes. "Take me in my treasury, and watch the treasure", she invited him.

He obliged, and noticed something - all the time they were involved in the act, gold coins appeared in her treasury, the occasional gemstone and precious item. While doing the deed he was too overwhelmed with her to ask about this. After a while, once they were both satisfied, she climbed off him and helped him up.

"What did you notice?" she asked.

"I saw more treasure appearing all the while we were having sex", he replied. "Why did that happen?"

"The law of the Demon Lady who rules us!" replied his Succubus with a smile. "Whenever we have friendly contact with a willing partner she gives us wealth directly from her own hoard, which is maintained by the Archfiends of Lust. When we have friendly contact with a being here in our own realm we get even more added to our hoards. You have made me very rich. If you were to be dominated I would gain considerably less. This is one reason why I choose not to dominate you, and was why I was so pleased when you suggested friendly contact all those years ago."

She bent down into the hoard and let gold rain between her fingers, laughing. She picked a few choice articles of great value and a handful of gold and she said, "Give me your money pouch and I will give you a small share of my wealth."

He gave her his money pouch and she filled it. He noticed some treasure disappeared from her hoard when she did this.

"I saw some of your wealth vanish - what happened?" asked Samuel.

"The price of generosity", replied his Succubus. "Our Demon Lady does not like us sharing our wealth with mortals and taxes it heavily - twice what we give is removed from our hoards. But do not consider it; you're worth it a thousand times over. Of course, if you were to sell me your soul that would be different - then I would actually be rewarded for giving you my wealth."

"I said no, and, with all due respect, I meant it," said Samuel.

"Yes, and I said I would respect that, and I meant it, too." said his Succubus. "I was in debt to our Demon Lady ruler before I met you, did you know that? I spent all my money and more besides for power and spells and strength far in excess of what most Succubae have. In return she asked that I use this strength in the Fiend Pits to corrupt mortal adventurers, dominating them if necessary. Now I have wealth enough to buy many favours, and even greater strength - but I get all the strength I want or need from our encounters together, and I need few favours. As a result I have grown wealthy indeed. And a share of that is yours, whenever you need it, whether you sell me your soul or no."

She continued, "Our Demon Lady wants Succubae and Incubi to be known and trusted in the physical plane, and to have a good reputation for demons. Therefore she strongly rewards those who have friendly contact with mortals; she slightly rewards those who dominate their mortals but treat them well; and she punishes those who kill their partners. She also severely punishes those who share their wealth with mortals, through an exorbitant tax; she wants us to spend our wealth here in aid of her plans rather than through bribing mortals. But you're worth that. Basically, she wants us to make liaisons with Succubae and Incubi accepted and common on the physical plane and to corrupt as many mortals to the ways of Lust as possible - but that is more a long term goal. And willing corruption is worth so much more that dominated corruption."

She showed Samuel the rest of her home and while he was there cooked him a meal laced with powerful aphrodisiacs. To her surprise they had little effect; perhaps because they had lain together so recently and he needed to recharge. Perhaps because he was deliberately resisting temptation. She didn't press him, but invited him into her bedroom to cuddle for a little while, and to her disappointment it didn't go any further than cuddling, in spite of some quite blatant come-ons. Finally she lost patience and asked him what was going on.

"It isn't easy for me to resist, believe me," Samuel said. "But I felt like teasing you. Besides, you did punish me earlier - this is my way of getting my own back."

His Succubus sighed and conceded the point. "Very well," she said. "If you will not pleasure me for now I will return you to the physical plane. I will ask a friend to Gate us to a particular spot in the physical that you may recognise."

She led Samuel through the Abyss to another square where Succubae and Incubi were lounging. One of them said "Ooh, a mortal" and blew him a kiss. He felt his ring grow warm and - and nothing. The blown kiss had no effect. The ring must protect against that effect! "From everyone except me", said his Succubus in response to his thought. Then she rounds on the kiss-blower.

"This is MY mortal and under my protection," she snarls. "Anyone who wants him will have to go through ME!"

The air grew thick as she extended her power. The air crackled. She seemed to grow larger. "Do you dare contest me? Do you dare challenge me? This mortal is MINE!"

"Alright, keep your hair on," said the Succubus who had blown him a kiss. "I just thought I'd have a bit of fun with him, that's all. That's what mortals are for, after all."

"I formally claim this mortal for my own before you all," said Samuel's Succubus. "He is MINE."

"Now", she added, turning to an Incubus, "I would like you to Gate me to a particular location on the Physical plane. I can pay if you require that."

He replied, "Business or pleasure? Is this a task set by our Demonic Mistress, or your own pursuits?"

"Business and pleasure, and my own pursuits," she replied.

"Very well. I will charge you the standard rate, or a favour in the future of equal value. What do you choose?"

"I will pay the standard rate", replied Samuel's Succubus. "And this is where I want you to Gate us." She whispers into his ear.

He nodded, said "From your hoard to mine, the standard rate!" and cast Gate.

She quickly led Samuel through into a room in a dungeon filled with monsters. She rapidly slew them all before Samuel even drew his sword and said, "Do you recognise this place?"

"I don't know. Some kind of dungeon?" replied Samuel.

"I'm amazed! This is the same place in the Fiend Pits where we first met, all those years ago! Now tell me. You refused my charms back home. Will you refuse me even here?"

Although Samuel was tempted to tease her more, he was also tempted to be with her here. This time he gave in to temptation.

They utterly gave in to each other, lost in each other's arms and bodies. So it is perhaps forgiveable that they didn't notice the party of Paladins approaching, led by Samuel's one-time ally. By the time she spotted them and sprang to her feet, dragging Samuel up with her, they had them surrounded.

"That's Samuel!" cried his Paladin ally. "He must have been enamoured by that Succubus! Quickly, we must kill her; it is the only way to break the thrall!"

"Don't kill her!" said Samuel. "I am not enthralled; I am with this demon of my own free will."

The Paladin snorts. "Just what I'd expect an enthralled being to say. Don't worry Samuel, we'll free you." And they closed in.

His Succubus growled in anger, and used Mass Hold Person. The entire group of Paladins was stopped in its tracks.

"I will KILL them", she growled. "They DARED to interrupt us! HERE of all places! They will SUFFER and they will DIE!"

"Let them live", said Samuel. "I know you are angry but I have always been a friend to the Paladin orders. If only for me, let them live."

His Succubus, her voice a low growl, said, "My love pleads for your safety. That is your ONLY salvation. I could punish you in ways that would make you beg for death. I am far, far more powerful than most Succubae. I WILL punish you for daring to intrude on us in this place."

Samuel said, "I owe this Paladin my life many times over. Punish the others if you will, but not him."

"Is it true?" asked his Paladin friend in disbelief. "You are arguing with her which you could not do if you were enthralled. Is it true you are with this - this abomination willingly?"

"She is a good friend and a powerful ally", replied Samuel. "She also has saved my life many times. I am Lawful Neutral as you know so I can do this without alignment violation. Even demons are good to those they care about... and she cares about me. And I her."

"Samuel, please - if you let her, she will take your soul and bind you to her forever! You will never escape her! Don't worry about us; run while you can!" said the Paladin.

Samuel shook his head. "I would no sooner run from her than I would from you, my friend. She is the most powerful ally I have ever had."

"Enough talk!" growled his Succubus. She turned to Samuel's ally. "You I will spare from punishment. Be grateful. And if you interrupt us ever again I will mete out a most dire punishment upon you."

She summoned a demon; Samuel shuddered - he hated it when she did that. She turned to the demon and said, "The Mass Hold Person will wear out in a couple of hours. With the exception of this one", she said, gesturing to Samuel's Paladin ally, "make them wish they were dead, make them beg for death, but don't give it to them. Don't damage them so badly that they cannot leave the dungeon afterwards. When the Mass Hold Person runs out, **flee** – either return to your home plane or to me, I care not which."

The demon nodded and began the torture. Samuel and his Succubus left the dungeon with screams ringing in their ears...

Samuel said, as they exited the dungeon, "I am now many months' journey from where I was travelling. It will take **ages** to get back to where I was before."

"That's the point", said his Succubus. "I want you far from anywhere our partnership is known. I hope we won't regret letting those Paladins live. We can travel for a while together; then when my Gate has recharged we can go home again and, if you prefer, get someone to Gate us to a good inn." She smiled. "I wish I could Gate us back to my home plane now, and offer you the courtesy of my home; but that is for the future."

And so they walked on together.


End file.
